Originally posted by g-man:ya and that's where I'm saying I'd love to test out out blind, because I think it'll still hold. I did something in the past where it was two of each group, one cheaper and one more expensive and when it was blind the general results amongst the group came to what I stated.

i'd certainly love to do it again as I haven't done a blind sake tasting in over 6 years.

What format/examples would you suggest?

i blind taste sakes very frequently with friends too, a friend that's a chef does a once a month sushi dinner at her home where we all bring different sakes that is a great experience, its not uncommon to have almost a dozen different sakes...

...and to add what i was trying to say before, designation is just one of many influences on flavor/profile... even moreso, rice (believe there are more than a doezen different grains used), brewing method, house style, etc... play as much if not more of a role than designation, and definitely moreso than price...

id recommend finding a local purveyor you trust and try a couple different tastings... its just like wine, beer, or any other beverage...

one ive done with friends before is taking different sakes from the same house that milled different rices at the same (or close to as possible) designation, it's like trying a clone flight of Pinot's from a winery... i think you'll find the differences to be very apparent and many paradigms shattered

Originally posted by g-man:ya and that's where I'm saying I'd love to test out out blind, because I think it'll still hold. I did something in the past where it was two of each group, one cheaper and one more expensive and when it was blind the general results amongst the group came to what I stated.

i'd certainly love to do it again as I haven't done a blind sake tasting in over 6 years.

What format/examples would you suggest?

i blind taste sakes very frequently with friends too, a friend that's a chef does a once a month sushi dinner at her home where we all bring different sakes that is a great experience, its not uncommon to have almost a dozen different sakes...

...and to add what i was trying to say before, designation is just one of many influences on flavor/profile... even moreso, rice (believe there are more than a doezen different grains used), brewing method, house style, etc... play as much if not more of a role than designation, and definitely moreso than price...

id recommend finding a local purveyor you trust and try a couple different tastings... its just like wine, beer, or any other beverage...

one ive done with friends before is taking different sakes from the same house that milled different rices at the same (or close to as possible) designation, it's like trying a clone flight of Pinot's from a winery... i think you'll find the differences to be very apparent and many paradigms shattered...

In Ny i can find almost any producer, throw me some names and styles.

While, I dont doubt the slight nuances you are mentioning with the various method and rices, I'm still very skeptical that in a blind tasting you would say, pick out a 10$ sake that is delicate and floral, or pick out a 100$ sake that is heavy and harsh.

Originally posted by g-man:In Ny i can find almost any producer, throw me some names and styles.

While, I dont doubt the slight nuances you are mentioning with the various method and rices, I'm still very skeptical that in a blind tasting you would say, pick out a 10$ sake that is delicate and floral, or pick out a 100$ sake that is heavy and harsh.

heavy and harsh... what happened to stronger and full bodied , and of course, at the extremes you're going to find it hard to compare and find an excellent $10 sake and a crappy $100 sake, not exactly earth shattering there, and not where i thought the direction of this conversation was going...

really, try some of the same type of tastings for sake you would do with wine... two breweries i really like are Heiwa and Kuji (Nanbu Bijin)... Otokoyama as mentioned above is good as well... if you can find some from Heiwa and Kuji they would be a great comparison just between two sakes, about the same price ($35-40 or so for Junmai-Ginjo) and completely different styles, i find the Heiwa's to be much more fruity and a great compliment to fried foods like tempura and broiled fishes, whereas the Kuji's are much more floral and crisp, perfect for sushi, though YMMV... the point being at the same price, you can have very different sakes

heavy and harsh... what happened to stronger and full bodied , and of course, at the extremes you're going to find it hard to compare and find an excellent $10 sake and a crappy $100 sake, not exactly earth shattering there, and not where i thought the direction of this conversation was going...

really, try some of the same type of tastings for sake you would do with wine... two breweries i really like are Heiwa and Kuji (Nanbu Bijin)... Otokoyama as mentioned above is good as well... if you can find some from Heiwa and Kuji they would be a great comparison just between two sakes, about the same price ($35-40 or so for Junmai-Ginjo) and completely different styles, i find the Heiwa's to be much more fruity and a great compliment to fried foods like tempura and broiled fishes, whereas the Kuji's are much more floral and crisp, perfect for sushi, though YMMV... the point being at the same price, you can have very different sakes

good luck!

the convo wasn't about finding stuff int eh same price range,

it's saying that buying sake where if you were looking, the price point is a great guide to the flavor profile.

it's not like wine where you can easily find a crappy 100$ vs say a 50$ vs say a 30$ bottle.